Vlad Munteanu

Vlad Munteanu

Personal information
Full name	Vlad Ioan Munteanu
Date of birth	(1981-01-16) 16 January 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth	Bacău, Romania
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
0000–1999	SC Bacău
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	FCM Bacău	39	(7)
2000–2006	Dinamo București	94	(11)
2001–2002	→ Poiana Câmpina (loan)	3	(2)
2004–2005	→ Național București (loan)	14	(1)
2006–2007	Energie Cottbus	33	(11)
2007–2011	VfL Wolfsburg	10	(0)
2008	→ Auxerre (loan)	9	(0)
2009	→ Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	15	(2)
2010	→ FSV Frankfurt (loan)	12	(0)
2011	Dinamo București	4	(0)
2011–2012	Concordia Chiajna	21	(1)
2012–2013	Erzgebirge Aue	6	(0)
Total		260	(35)
International career
2002	Romania	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vlad Ioan Munteanu (born 16 January 1981) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. ^[1]

Club career

Munteanu was born on 16 January 1981 in Bacău, Romania and started to play football at local club, FCM for which he made his Divizia A debut on 6 March 1999 in a 2–0 home victory against Astra Ploiești. ^{[2] [3] [4]} After two seasons spent with FCM he went for a six-seasons spell at Dinamo București with whom he won the only trophies of his career, also in the same period making his only appearances in European competitions consisting of a total of 10 UEFA Cup matches with two goals scored. ^{[2] [3]} His first performance was winning the 2000–01 Cupa României, however coach Cornel Dinu did not use him in the final, in the following season Munteanu helped Dinamo win the title, coaches Dinu and Marin Ion giving him 19 appearances in which he scored 5 goals, also during the same season he played a few games for the club's then satellite team, Poiana Câmpina. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} His biggest performances with The Red Dogs came when Ioan Andone became head coach at the club, first winning the 2002–03 Cupa României, being sent in the 90+2 minute to replace Florentin Petre in the 1–0 victory from the final in front of Național București. ^{[2] [3] [9]} In the following season he helped the club win The Double, being used by Andone in 18 league games in which he scored one goal and again as a substitute in the Cupa României final, sending him this time on the field in the 55th minute to replace Ionuț Badea, opening the score about 10 minutes later in the 2–0 victory against Oțelul Galați, also providing two perfect assists to Claudiu Niculescu and Ianis Zicu's goals in the 2–0 home victory against Shakhtar Donetsk which helped them eliminate the Ukrainians in the UEFA Cup. ^{[2] [3] [6] [10] [11]} After playing only a few games in the first half of the 2004–05 season he was announced by Andone that he will not be part of his plans for the second half of the season so he went on a loan to Național București. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [12]} He returned to Dinamo for the 2005–06 season, Andone using him as a starter until the 69th minute when he replaced him with Ianis Zicu in the 3–2 victory against rivals Steaua București which helped the team earn for the first time in its history the Supercupa României, also Andone used him in 6 games from the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign when the team eliminated Omonia Nicosia against whom he scored a goal, Everton with a historical 5–2 on aggregate, reaching the group stage where the campaign ended but there he scored the only goal of a 1–0 victory against CSKA Moscow which mathematically eliminated the title holders from the competition. ^{[2] [3] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]}

In 2006, Munteanu signed with Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga where he made a couple in the team's offence with fellow Romanian Sergiu Radu, they were nicknamed by the German press "The Twins of the Goal" as through the 2006–07 season Munteanu scored a personal record of 11 goals while Radu netted the goal 14 times which together are over half of the total 38 goals scored by the team that helped it avoid relegation. ^{[2] [3] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]} In the summer of 2007 he and Sergiu Radu were transferred by VfL Wolfsburg who paid 4.5 million€ for them of which 1.5 were for Munteanu. ^{[18] [19] [20] [22] [23]} After in the first half of the 2007–08 Bundesliga season he was used by coach Felix Magath in 10 league games, he was sent in the second half to play on loan for French Ligue 1 side Auxerre under coach Jean Fernandez alongside compatriots Daniel Niculae and Gabriel Tamaș but after only 12 appearances in all competitions he returned back to Wolfsburg, claiming he could not adapt to the fact that the French football was relying too much on physical strength. ^{[2] [3] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]} After not being part of Magath's plans for The Wolves in the 2008–09 season as he only played for the team's satellite team in the fourth division, he was loaned for the second half of the season to Arminia Bielefeld where he would make his last Bundesliga appearances, a competition in which he gained a total of 58 appearances and 13 goals scored. ^{[2] [3] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]} The following season Munteanu started again by playing in the first half for Wolfsburg's satellite team, being loaned for the second half at 2. Bundesliga club FSV Frankfurt. ^{[2] [3] [5] [41] [42]}

In January 2011, he ended his contract with Wolfsburg and signed a deal for six months with his old club, Dinamo București. ^{[2] [3] [5]} Afterwards he went to play for the 2011–12 season at Concordia Chiajna where he made his last Divizia A appearance on 9 May 2012 in a 3–1 victory against Pandurii Târgu Jiu, having a total of 172 matches played and 19 goals scored in the competition. ^{[2] [43]} In 2013, after one season spent at 2. Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue in which he made six appearances, Vlad Munteanu retired at age 32. ^{[2] [44] [45]}

International career

Vlad Munteanu appeared in one international match for Romania on 21 August 2002 when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him on the field in the 79th minute in order to replace Paul Codrea in a friendly which ended with a 1–0 loss in front of Greece. ^{[46] [47]} In 2007, during his prolific season spent at Energie Cottbus together with Sergiu Radu, the Romanian press insisted that they should be called-up for the national team but coach Victor Pițurcă did not accept saying about the Bundesliga championship:"It's not what it once was! The clubs are at a low level and the players are of average value." ^{[21] [23] [24] [25] [48] [49]}

Personal life

His father, Ion was also a footballer who played for FCM Bacău and Universitatea Cluj and has over 250 Divizia A appearances in which he scored 60 goals. ^{[50] [51] [52]}

Honors

Dinamo București

• Divizia A: 2001–02, 2003–04 ^[53]
• Cupa României: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 ^[53]
• Supercupa României: 2005 ^[53]

References

1. "Vlad Munteanu". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
2. Vlad Munteanu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
3. "Vlad Munteanu s-a întors în România să o transforme pe Dinamo într-o campioană: "Am plecat băiat, m-am întors bărbat"" [Vlad Munteanu returned in Romania to transform Dinamo into a champion: "I left as a boy, I came back as a man"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
4. "Vlad Munteanu - despre Torje si Mansour" [Vlad Munteanu - about Torje and Mansour] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
5. "Vlad Munteanu a revenit la Dinamo" [Vlad Munteanu returned to Dinamo] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
6. "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
7. "Romanian Cup – Season 2000–2001". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
8. "Pagini memorabile din istoria fotbalului prahovean (XXXIII)/La Câmpina au jucat Dănciulescu, Zicu, Marica, Mitea…" [Memorable pages from the history of Prahova football (XXXIII)/Dănciulescu, Zicu, Marica, Mitea played at Câmpina...] (in Romanian). Ziarulprahova.ro. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
9. "Romanian Cup – Season 2002–2003". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
10. "Romanian Cup – Season 2003–2004". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
11. "Dinamo s-a îmbogăţit de pe urma ucrainenilor! A cîştigat milioane de euro şi l-a pus pe Lucescu antrenor la Şahtior" [Dinamo got rich from the Ukrainians! They won millions of euros and made Lucescu coach at Şahtior] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
12. "FC National - Steaua si Dinamo ii intaresc pe "bancari"" [FC National - Steaua and Dinamo strengthen the "bankers"] (in Romanian). Jurnalul.ro. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
13. "Dinamo invinge Steaua si castiga Supercupa Romaniei" [Dinamo defeats Steaua and wins the Romanian Supercup] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
14. "Romanian Super Cup – Season 2005". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
15. "VIDEO 15 ani de la istoricul Dinamo - Everton 5-1. 3 dintre oamenii-cheie au rememorat meciul pentru GSP: "Sincer să fiu, am fost cel mai bun!"" [VIDEO 15 years since the historic Dinamo - Everton 5-1. 3 of the key people recalled the match for GSP:" To be honest, I was the best! "] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
16. "Dinamo si-a complicat situatia" [Dinamo complicated their situation] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 13 August 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
17. "Bucharest shuts down CSKA Moscow" (in Romanian). Taipeitimes.com. 3 December 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
18. "La pachet" [Package deal] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
19. ""Gemenii golului", la Wolfsburg pentru 4,5 milioane de euro!" ["The twins of the goal", in Wolfsburg for 4.5 million euros!] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
20. "Vlad Munteanu si Sergiu Radu - La Wolfsburg" [Vlad Munteanu and Sergiu Radu - At Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
21. "Vlad Munteanu: "Piturca poate sa nu ma cheme la nationala, nu ma mai intereseaza"" [Vlad Munteanu: "Piturca may not call me to the national team, I'm not interested anymore"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 18 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
22. ""Gemenii golului" s-au transferat la Wolfsburg" [The "twins of the goal" transferred to Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Crisana.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
23. "Sergiu Radu si Vlad Munteanu, la VfL Wolfsburg" [Sergiu Radu and Vlad Munteanu, at VfL Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
24. "Piturca si-a calcat pe inima si l-a convocat pe "Schija"" [Piturca stepped on his heart and summoned "Schija"] (in Romanian). Evz.ro. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
25. "Sergiu Radu: "Am marcat cat Mutu. Vreau la nationala!"" [Sergiu Radu: "I scored as much as Mutu. I want to be at the national team!"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
26. "Vlad Munteanu nu se sperie de "Sadam" Magath!" [Vlad Munteanu is not afraid of "Sadam" Magath!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
27. "Exclusiv Prosport, Vlad Munteanu merge la Auxerre" [Exclusive Prosport, Vlad Munteanu goes to Auxerre] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
28. "Vlad Munteanu la Auxerre" [Vlad Munteanu at Auxerre] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
29. "Jean Fernandez il compara de V. Munteanu cu Mutu" [Jean Fernandez compares V. Munteanu with Mutu] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
30. "Vlad Munteanu, intre Auxerre si Wolfsburg" [Vlad Munteanu, between Auxerre and Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Ziaruldebacau.ro. 9 May 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
31. "Românii lui Auxerre, învingători in extremis" [The Romanians of Auxerre, victorious in extremis] (in Romanian). Gds.ro. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
32. "Auxerre renunță la Vlad Munteanu" [Auxerre waives Vlad Munteanu] (in Romanian). Jurnalul.ro. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
33. ""După o lună, le-am zis că nu vreau să rămân!". EXCLUSIV Românul care a ajuns în Ligue 1 și s-a speriat după un singur meci:"Pulpa unui adversar era cât ambele ale mele!"" ["After a month, I told them I don't want to stay!". EXCLUSIVE The Romanian who reached Ligue 1 and got scared after a single match: "An opponent's pulp was as big as both of mine!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
34. "Vlad Munteanu nu mai este dorit la Auxerre" [Vlad Munteanu is no longer wanted at Auxerre] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
35. "Vlad Munteanu: "Vreau să plec de la Wolfsburg"" [Vlad Munteanu: "I want to leave Wolfsburg"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
36. ""Rapid este mai experimentată, dar Wolfsburg e mai valoroasă"" ["Rapid is more experienced, but Wolfsburg is more valuable"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
37. "Vlad Munteanu părăseşte pe Wolfsburg" [Vlad Munteanu leaves Wolfsburg] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 8 August 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
38. "Vlad Munteanu a fost imprumutat la Arminia Bielefeld!" [Vlad Munteanu was loaned to Arminia Bielefeld!] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
39. "Vlad Munteanu, împrumutat şase luni la Arminia Bielefeld" [Vlad Munteanu, on loan for six months at Arminia Bielefeld] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
40. "EXCLUSIV Vlad Munteanu s-a transferat la Arminia Bielefeld !" [EXCLUSIVE Vlad Munteanu has transferred to Arminia Bielefeld!] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
41. "Vlad Munteanu, la FSV Frankfurt" [Vlad Munteanu, at FSV Frankfurt] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
42. "Vlad Munteanu la FSV Frankfurt" [Vlad Munteanu at FSV Frankfurt] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
43. "Vlad Munteanu continuă în Liga 1. Va juca pentru Concordia Chiajna" [Vlad Munteanu continues in Liga 1. He will play for Concordia Chiajna] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
44. "Pa, Chiajna! Vlad Munteanu va evolua în liga secundă germană" [Bye, Chiajna! Vlad Munteanu will perform in the German second league] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
45. "Vlad Munteanu, din "iarbă", direct în fotoliul de conducător" [Vlad Munteanu, from the "grass", directly into the leader's chair] (in Romanian). Zcj.ro. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
46. "Vlad Munteanu profile". European Football. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
47. "Romania 0-1 Greece". European Football. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
48. "Piturca: "Bundesliga este un campionat slab, cu jucatori mediocri"" [Piturca: "Bundesliga is a weak championship, with mediocre players"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
49. "Piţurcă: "Privesc fiecare etapă din Bundesliga"" [Pițurcă: "I watch every round of the Bundesliga"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
50. "'U' Cluj: Vlad Munteanu are pedigree 'studenţesc'" ["U" Cluj: Vlad Munteanu has a student "pedigree"] (in Romanian). transilvaniareporter.ro. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
51. "Istoria scrisa in familie! Tatal lui Vlad Munteanu a adus ultima victorie a lui U Cluj in fata CFR-ului, in urma cu 42 de ani!" [History written in the family! Vlad Munteanu's father brought Cluj's last victory in front of CFR, 42 years ago!] (in Romanian). sport.ro. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
52. "Aşchia nu sare departe de trunchi! TOP 10 perechi tată-fiu care au scris istorie pentru fotbalul românesc" [The splinter does not fall far from the tree! TOP 10 father-son pairs who have written history for Romanian football] (in Romanian). prosport.ro. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
53. Vlad Munteanu at Soccerway

External links

• Vlad Ioan MUNTEANU at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
• Vlad Ioan MUNTEANU – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French
• Vlad Munteanu at L'Équipe Football (in French)
• Vlad Munteanu at National-Football-Teams.com
• Vlad Munteanu at Soccerway